A whole bunch of new columns from yours truly posted. Latest on 411mania is my monthly reader feedback column. Basically, I take the best/worst comments from July 2018 and reply to them. So much fun. Check it out.

WWE RAW

Ronda Rousey is having her WWE Raw debut match. Folks, this is big. By now, everybody should know how much I enjoy her being in the professional wrestling industry. I have made that point very clear over the past few months and was super jacked up for the announcement all week. Hinted at it a million times on Twitter in the lead up and can't wait to watch her destroy Alicia Fox on Monday. She is exactly like Brock Lesnar in being a special attraction but is also exactly like a 'normal' star in that she appears each week and does live events on a fairly regular basis.

It has been a tough balancing act in keeping her aura alive...yet still showing us that she is committed and there for a full-time schedule. WWE needs to be commended in that and given kudos for the RAW bout coming up. Yeah, it will be quick. Yeah, it will be predictable. Yeah, Rousey will stomp Fox in a second. Yeah, we know this "match" won't be much. That doesn't matter. Ronda Rousey is wrestling on television in two days. That is major.

NXT

There is a new NXT Champion ladies and gentlemen. His name is Tommaso Ciampa. Sorry to Aleister Black. It isn't that his title reign was bad persay; it just reeked of circumstances beyond his control hurting him. Drew McIntyre got called up to the main roster. Andrade Almas got called up to the main roster. Adam Cole got side tracked with his championship victory and Undisputed Era business. Oh, and then there was this little thing called the Ciampa/Johnny Gargano feud that was lighting the NXT Universe on fire. Black was in a tough spot. Injured or not, getting called up or not, it seemed like his big victory over WrestleMania 34 weekend was all for nothing. I won't blame him. Just very unfortunate. Bright spot is Ciampa/Gargano has been a main event level story line for a year now and will continue that - only with stakes even higher now. Should be good.

Mae Young Classic II

I knew of Madison Rayne from Impact Wrestling getting a shot. I knew of Kaitlyn returning, and that is it. The rest were surprises to me and/or are interesting additions. With the finals taking place at WWE Evolution in late October, look for two big names in the women's division to get to the end. In front of a New York crowd at a history making pay-per-view event, I know my two favorites. A future column perhaps?

Impact Wrestling

Speaking of the company formerly known as TNA for a second, the show received a mere 248,000 viewers on Thursday. I don't watch the show nor have I seen any of Slammiversary...but for some unknown reason, there is all this talk of a resurgence or growing momentum or whatever. Um, sure. Yeah, okay.

Death

What isn't fun...death. It sucks. I know there are a lot of cool quotes and things to make everything seem okay, but the reality is losing a loved one hurts. Long-term and short-term, you feel the emotion and have to live with everything in the aftermath. Truth be told, I have never lost a SUPER DUPER close family member or BEST friend. I have had friends that died suddenly while I was young or knew of distance relatives that passed away. However, nothing to truly affect me in a very personal way. I know that will change someday, and I have no idea how I will react.

On Saturday afternoon, one of my good friend's lost their father. I knew he was getting ill and had very little time left on this planet. In fact, he even walked his daughter down the aisle last year, and it was a gut wrenching tearful moment for everybody to witness at the wedding knowing of his failing health. I can't even imagine how he was feeling, how his daughter was feeling, or what his loved one were thinking. Even worse, he was going to be a grandfather (again) in a few weeks but will never be able to proudly hold the baby in his arms.

When I got the news a few hours ago, it hit me pretty hard. I didn't know the man very well nor had I talked to him in a long while. Still, he was somebody I grew up with in my life, and I knew how much he meant to my friends. He was a father to his kids but to others that knew him, he was like a father.